How to Select Multiple Files on a Mac

How to Select Multiple Files on a Mac.

If you’ve recently bought an Apple computer and upgraded from Windows to macOS, you’ll notice that simple tasks like selecting and moving files are different on a Mac.

File selection is easy when you just need to select one file. On Mac OS X, click the file and perform the scheduled action – move, copy, or delete. But what if you want to move or delete a large group of files?

You can use the following methods to select multiple files (documents, photos, audio and video files) as well as folders and applications on your Apple computer.

There are four different ways to select multiple files on Mac. In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to:

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How to Select Multiple Adjacent Files on a Mac

If you need to select multiple contiguous or contiguous files (located next to each other), you can use the Shift-click method. To do this, follow these steps.

Open the Finder window that contains your files.

At the top of the Finder window, you’ll see the view type. Your next step depends on this setting.If your files are displayed in icon mode, select the first file, then press and hold the Shift key. Use the right arrow key to select other files. You can also use the down arrow to make a wider selection. Continue until you reach the last file.

If your items are displayed as a list, column, or gallery, select the first file, then press and hold the Shift key. Select the last file in the file sequence. The Finder will then select the first and last file, as well as all files in between.

You can now use the selected items to perform other actions. To deselect files, simply click elsewhere in the Finder.

How to Select Non-Adjacent Files on a Mac

Let’s assume that the files you want to select are not next to each other, but are located on different lines or scattered throughout your folder in the Finder. To select multiple non-contiguous files on a Mac, follow these steps.

Open a Finder window with the files you want to select. Select the first file.On your keyboard, press and hold the Command (Cmd) key. To add additional files to the selection, select them while holding down the Command key.

If you accidentally select any file, you can also use the Command+click method to deselect it. To do this, press Command, then select the desired file. This way, other selected files will remain selected and you won’t have to start from the beginning.

Advice. If you already have several files selected, you can add other files to them using the same method.

How to Select Multiple Files Using Mouse or Trackpad

The click+drag method allows you to select multiple files using your mouse or trackpad. This method may be the simplest of all. However, this also requires your files to be next to each other in the Finder.

To use this method, open a Finder window with your files, use your mouse or track to click anywhere, and drag your cursor over the files you want to select.

Method 4: How to Select All Files on a Mac

If you need to select all files in a folder in Finder, you can use the menu bar option or keyboard shortcut. To select all items in a folder:

Open a Finder window with the files you want to select.From the Finder menu bar, choose Edit > Select All. You will see all selected files. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Command + A to select all files.

Once you have selected all of your files, you can right-click on them and select any of the available actions.

Start Using Your Mac More Efficiently

By learning a few hacks and tips about your Mac, you will increase your productivity and save a lot of time. Finder is one of those apps that will help you better manage and organize your files. Learning to use the Finder more efficiently will help you get the most out of your Mac.